Leukemia mutation gene identified
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES - Researchers at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles announced the identification of a mutated gene which plays a role in the development of B-precursor leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer.
The study was led by Dr. Fatih M. Uckun, leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the Institute of Pediatric Clinical Research at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Academy's official journal.
The mutated gene, CD22, leads to development of B-precursor leukemia in children, especially in infants, according to Uckun.
B-precursor leukemia, also known as ALL, is a type of leukemia where an abundance of immature white blood cells appear in the blood and bone marrow.
The disease historically had a high mortality rate with nearly 80 percent of children failing to survive long term, but with better treatment and early diagnosis those numbers have been reversed with nearly 80 percent surviving long term, Uckun said.
In the study, scientists looked at leukemia cells from 17 children with ALL and identified a "previously unknown gene expression signature'' associated with mutations of the CD22 gene, Uckun said.
"The physiologic function of normal CD22 is to regulate immune responses and prevent inappropriately strong or prolonged stimulations of our immune system,'' "This receptor is completely defective in infant leukemia cells, causing signaling pathways to remain in "overdrive," which contributes to the aggressive nature of infant leukemia cells,"Uckun stated.
This finding represents the first discovery of a specific CD22 defect in a human cancer, Uckun said.
"... Better understanding of the biological basis of ALL could lead to the development of ... more effective treatment programs for poor risk groups of children with ALL, particularly infants,'' said Dr. Stuart Siegel, director of the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
Researchers hope identification of the defective gene will enable them to refine diagnostic techniques to better identify families who may be at risk for ALL.
LOS ANGELES - A cancer researcher at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles was awarded a $2.5 million grant to develop new treatments for leukemia in children.
Dr. Fatih Uckun of the CHLA's Saban Research Institute received the grant from the National Cancer Institute for development of drugs used to fight acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of cancer in children and adolescents, according to hospital spokeswoman Ellin Kavanagh.
Uckun and his colleagues focus on medicines that specifically target leukemia cells.
Thousands of cancer survivors, research supporters, and friends and family of cancer victims are expected to take to the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday for the sixth Annual Brittiana “Smile for Life” 5-K walk/run. Beginning at 9 a.m. at the Kenneth Hahn Park & Trails, the event will honor Brittiana Henderson, who fell victim to cancer at age 13 on Jan. 31, 2007, and children who are fighting the deadly illness.
Brittiana succumbed to bone cancer and leukemia.
She’s a praying woman who faithfully attends Sunday school and morning service every week, along with Tuesday night prayer and Bible study. She wakes up every morning and prays for the family and prepares breakfast for her household full of grandbabies. She struggles to make ends meet on her measly Social Security check and government funds. Not to mention her health isn’t the best.
She’s that grandmother who has paid her dues, raised her own children and is now raising her children’s children.
Patients seeking bone marrow donations to fight diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma will typically find a match within their family only 25 percent of the time; the other 75 percent of matches are made with compatible strangers.
That’s where Be the Match comes in. This national registry of 9 million donors is one way those seeking marrow can find it.
LOS ANGELES - An analysis of all eight cases of California infants who died from whooping cough this year has found that doctors typically failed to make a swift, accurate diagnosis, despite patients' multiple visits to clinics and hospitals, it was reported.
"In several cases ... the infants were treated only for nasal congestion or mild upper respiratory infection,'' Dr. John Talarico, an immunization official with the California Department of Public Health, wrote in a recent letter to healthcare providers statewide, the Los Angeles Times reported.
